If you are moving to a new home and are worried about the size of a boundary hedge, your conveyancing solicitor will be able to find out who owns it and whether it is breaching current legislation
Growing pains
Jacinta Walmsley, head of residential conveyancing at Hatchers Solicitors, cuts through the confusion about hedges that hog the light
As the weather warms up, homeowners rediscover their gardens – dashing out to plant the geraniums, trim the lawn and marvel at how everything has suddenly grown so gloriously rampant.
If the clematis you put in against the fence a couple of years ago has got as wild as Peaches Geldof, no doubt you will make a note to cut it back to prevent it climbing into your neighbour’s garden. But what if the greenery on the boundary between your properties is causing a major problem by blocking your neighbour’s light or access? Is your hedge, in fact, a bit of a hog?
Although they offer privacy and shelter from the wind, high hedges are one of the most common causes of disputes between neighbours about access and loss of light. The law has a lot to say about high hedges, which it defines as two or more adjacent evergreens – trees or shrubs – which together form all or part of a barrier and whose height exceeds two metres.
A high hedge must not adversely affect the reasonable enjoyment of neighbouring properties. Generally, this means keeping your hedge below two metres in height if it is near enough to someone else’s property to be blocking their daylight and sunlight.
However, hedge height legislation is a complicated area and there are formulas you can use to calculate whether a hedge is contravening rules. For full details, check out the government website www.communities.gov.uk and see the booklet Hedge Height and Light Loss, and also the FAQs in the section on ‘planning, building and the environment’.
Worried
If you are moving to a new home and are worried about the size of a boundary hedge, your conveyancing solicitor will be able to find out who owns it and whether it is breaching current legislation. If it is on your neighbour’s land and you believe it is affecting your light, then a gentle word might be all that is needed to resolve the situation. If your neighbour perhaps cannot manage the work themselves, you could offer to do it for them or suggest they get someone in to do it.
If your neighbour does not accept your opinion that their hedge is affecting you and refuses to cut it back, then your solicitor can send a firm letter informing them of their responsibilities. If all such negotiations fail, you can make a complaint in writing to your local authority. This is ‘last-resort’ action and it is worth putting every effort into settling the squabble amicably because Councils may charge for applications to get involved in hedge battles. However, if a complaint is upheld they can issue a remedial notice setting out the work that must be done to the hedge and when by.
A dispute about high hedges is unpleasant and can be expensive, though. And if everyone was as considerate to their neighbours as possible, it would avoid a lot of distress and there would be more time spent enjoying our gardens.
